Oregon Plans $25 Million Upgrade to the Umatilla Chemical Depot

The state of Oregon has announced the Oregon Military Department plans to spend $25 million on upgrades at Camp Umatilla, the former Umatilla Chemical Depot, outside Hermiston.

According to the East Oregonian, a new training center will be used on weekends and assist in annual training requirements for all military branches, and will also house the 249th Regional Training Institute, which trains infantry leaders.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a license in November dedicating a portion of the to-be-developed land, but the rest of the terrain transfer to local control, including a 5,600-acre wildlife refuge and 4000 acres of industrial development, is still to take place.

The depot, which opened at the beginning of World War II, stored, at one time, 12 percent of America's chemical weapons stockpile.